DNA: The Data Source of Life

The progress of science makes it clear that living beings have an extremely complex structure and an order too perfect to have come into being by coincidence. This is evidence to the fact that living beings are created by an All-Powerful Creator with superior knowledge. Recently, for instance, with the unravelling of the perfect structure in the human gene-which became a prominent issue due to the Genome Project-the unique creation of God has once more been revealed for all to see.

From the U.S.A. to China, scientists from all over the world have given their best efforts over a decade to decode the 3 billion chemical letters in DNA and to determine their sequence. As a result, 85% of the data included in the DNA of human beings could be properly sequenced. Although this is a very exciting and important development, as Dr. Francis Collins, who leads the Human Genome Project states, so far, only the first step has been taken in the decoding of the information in DNA.

In order to understand why the decoding of this information takes so long, we have to understand the nature of the information stored in DNA.

The Secret Structure of DNA

In the manufacture of a technological product or the management of a plant, the greatest tools employed are the experience and accumulation of knowledge that man has acquired over many centuries. The necessary knowledge and experience needed for the construction of the human body, the most advanced and sophisticated "plant" on earth, are stored in DNA. DNA is a rather large molecule that is carefully protected in the cell nucleus, and functions as a kind of data bank for the human body. The information hidden inside DNA controls the thousands of different events that take place in the cells of the human body and in the functioning of its systems, as well as all physical features, from the colour of a person's hair and eyes to his height. For example, even whether someone's blood pressure is high, low or normal depends on the information in DNA.

The important point that needs to be stressed here is that ever since the very first human being, the trillions of examples of DNA in the billions of human cells have been appearing in the same state of perfection and complexity as at present. As you read the lines below, you will also come to see how it is clearly unreasonable to claim, as evolutionists do, that such a molecule, with all its mind-blowing structure and properties, originated as a result of coincidences.

Volumes of Information in the Human Cell

The information stored in DNA must by no means be underestimated. So much so that one human DNA molecule contains enough information to fill a million-page encyclopaedia, or to fill about 1,000 books. Note this fact well: one million encyclopaedia pages, or 1,000 books. This is to say that the nucleus of each cell contains as much information as would fill a one-million-page encyclopaedia, which is used to control the functions of the human body. To draw an analogy, we can state that even the 23-volume-Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the greatest mines of information in the world, has 25,000 pages. Therefore, before us lies an incredible picture. In a molecule found in a nucleus, which is far smaller than the microscopic cell wherein it is located, there exists a data warehouse 40 times bigger than the biggest encyclopaedia of the world that includes millions of items of information. This means a huge 1000-volume encyclopaedia which is unique and has no equal in the world. Were one piece of information present in human genes to be read every second, non-stop, around the clock, it would take 100 years to complete the process. If we imagine that the information in DNA were put into book form, the volumes placed on top of each other would reach 70 metres high. The latest calculations have revealed that this huge encyclopaedia contains some 3 billion different "subjects." If the information in DNA were to be written down on paper, that paper would stretch from the North Pole to Ecuador.

These examples are an indication of the imposing amount of information contained in DNA. Yet how can we talk of a molecule containing information? This is because what we talk about here is not a computer or a library, but just a piece of flesh that is a hundred thousand times smaller than a millimetre, simply made up of protein, fat and water molecules. It is a miracle of astounding proportions that this infinitesimal piece of flesh should contain and store even a single bit of information-let alone millions of bits.

There is enough information in one DNA molecule to fill 1,000 books. This is encoded in the DNA seen in the picture. All of a person's features are encoded in an alphabet symbolized in the letters A, T, C and G.

Computers are currently the most advanced form of technology for storing information. A body of information, which, 30 years ago, was routinely stored in a computer the size of a room, can today be stored in small "discs," yet even the latest technology invented by human intelligence, after centuries of accumulated knowledge and years of hard work, is far from reaching the information storage capacity of a single cell nucleus. The following comparison made by the well-known professor of microbiology Michael Denton, will probably suffice to highlight the contrast between the tiny size of DNA and the great amount of information it contains:

The information necessary to specify the design of all the species of organisms which have ever existed on the planet, a number according to G.G. Simpson of approximately one thousand million, could be held in a teaspoon and there would still be room left for all the information in every book ever written.1

How can a chain invisible to the eye, made up of atoms arranged sideways, with a diametre the size of a billionth of a millimetre, possess such information capacity and memory? And to this question also add the following: While each one of the 100 trillion cells in your body knows one million pages of information by heart, how many encyclopaedia pages can you, as an intelligent and conscious human being, memorize in your entire life? Even more important, the cell uses this information quite flawlessly, in an exceedingly planned and coordinated manner, in the appropriate places, and never makes any errors. Even before a human being has come into existence, his cells have already begun the process of building him.

The DNA molecule in the nucleus is wrapped up in special covers called chromosomes. The total length of a DNA molecule wrapped up in the chromosomes is 1 metre. A chromosome is one nanometre thick, in other words a billionth of a metre. How is a 1-metre long DNA molecule contained in such a tiny space?

Chromosome packages are actually made up of much smaller special container systems. The DNA molecule is first wound around special proteins called histones, just like a cotton reel. Thus, they form structures called nucleosomes. These nucleosomes are specially designed to protect the DNA and stop it being damaged. When nucleosomes are strung on to one another, they form chromatins. Closely wound coiled loops form with the chromatin. In this way, a superb creation squeezes the DNA molecule into a tiny space only a billionth of its length.

Cells: Building Blocks of Humans

The fertilization of an egg by the sperm means the beginning of a new human life. Millions of sperm compete to fertilize the egg, although only one of them will manage to do so. Yet the race is not left to chance or coincidence, since every phase of it has been created by God with a fixed outcome. God reveals this truth in a holy verse:

We created you, so why do you not confirm the truth? Have you thought about the sperm that you ejaculate? Is it you who create it or are We the Creator? (Qur'an, 56:57-59)

When the father's sperm cell fertilizes the mother's egg cell, the parents' genes come together to determine all the physical characteristics of the baby that will eventually be born. Each of the thousands of different genes has a particular function. It is the genes that determine hair and eye colour, facial shape, and countless details in the skeleton, internal organs, brain, nerves and muscles.

When the sperm unites with the egg, a cell forms-the basis of a new human being-and along with that cell, the first copy of the DNA molecule also forms, which will carry that person's genetic code inside each cell all through his life.

In order for that first cell, the fertilized egg, to turn into a human being, it needs to multiply, and in the knowledge of that, it begins to divide, with a remarkable consciousness. That consciousness reveals itself in the next phase. As the cells divide, they begin to grow different and go to those parts of the body where they are needed. Instead of a mass of flesh composed of exactly the same cells, some of them turn into eye cells and go where they are needed, others form heart cells and go to the chest, and still others become skin cells and cover the whole body. All the cells multiply as much as is needed for the particular tissue they will construct, and start joining together to give the tissues the structure they need, thus beginning to create different organs.

The coordination of this differentiation and structuring is made possible by the DNA molecule. We must not lose sight of the fact that DNA is neither a biochemist working in laboratories full of the very latest equipment, nor a super-computer able to perform trillions of calculations a second. DNA is a molecule made up of atoms such as carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen.

Let us now consider the following facts: The trillions of cells in the human body multiply by dividing. Yet different genes in different cells are activated at different times, and that allows cells to differentiate. To put it another way, every cell that divides and multiplies after the first cell contains a complete set of genetic information. In other words, every single cell possesses the ability to produce heart muscle, skin, red blood cells or any other tissue in the body. Even though each cell contains a complete genetic description of the whole body, only some genes are active at different times in different organs. For instance, every cell contains the codes for the development and functioning of the kidneys, yet only the relevant genes are active in that organ, at certain times in the development phase. Similarly, certain enzymes, glucose-6-phospate for instance, are found mainly in the liver. Although all the cells of all other organs also possess the description of this protein, they never produce it. Eye cells never do; for example, they just make what is necessary for the eye: nerve cells will carry messages to and from the brain and the organs, liver cells will purify toxins, and fat cells store food for times when food is hard to find. None of them ever commit the error of producing stomach enzymes. So who carries out this flawless division of labor? Who orders the cells to specialise in different areas after they have divided and multiplied? Moreover, how do all the cells come by the consciousness to obey, and whom do they listen to while working with such flawless discipline and organization? It is quite clear that none of these are coincidental systems, formed as the result of yet other coincidences.

This flawlessness does not end with the fact that cells appear in the right place and at the right time, and bring the right genes into play. Cells also have to be present at the appropriate stage of life, and in the right quantities. Our "upkeep" genes work the whole time in almost all our cells. Other genes only function in some cells at a critical period in life, working for just a few hours before going into dormant mode. For instance, milk production is accelerated by genes during breastfeeding. Existing information is activated at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place. Evolutionists' use of "coincidence" to explain this conscious, planned, determined, calculated and intelligent direction and use of the billions of pieces of information concealed in DNA is really no explanation at all. No system in the world, not even the simplest, can come about by coincidence, so it is utterly illogical to see the extraordinarily planned and organised events that go on at the level of microscopic space as coincidences. In fact, evolutionists admit that they are far from offering an explanation for this differentiation and division of labour in cells. The evolutionist microbiologist Professor Ali Demirsoy makes this confession:

In essence, no satisfactory explanation for the development of groups of cells with very different structures and functions has yet been provided.2

All these extraordinary events can clearly not be accounted for in terms of coincidences or being the work of the cells themselves. So, who directs these developments that occur in the cell, creates them for a particular purpose, and possesses the intelligence and power to introduce billions of pieces of information into a tiny space invisible to the naked eye?

The Wisdom in the Cell

If one day you see the words "Nothing comes about by chance" written on a piece of paper, you will not imagine they formed when ink was spilled on it. Every person of intelligence will think they were written by someone. Evolutionists' claims regarding the formation of the information inside DNA are just as totally illogical as saying that the letters on the piece of paper came about by chance.

In this case, you must admit that any cell in your stomach or ear is much more learned than you, and since it makes use of this information in the most correct and perfect way, it is much wiser than you.

But what is the source of this wisdom? How is it that every single one of the 100 trillion cells in the human body possesses such unbelievable intelligence, information and ability? These are, after all, piles of atoms, and they are unconscious. Take the atoms of all the elements, combine them in different forms and numbers, obtain different molecules, still you can never obtain wisdom. Whether these molecules are big or small, simple or complex does not matter. You can never obtain a mind that will consciously organise any process and accomplish it.

Then how can it be that DNA, which is composed of the arrangement of a certain number of unwise and unconscious atoms in certain sequences, and enzymes, working in a harmonious way, is able to organise countless complicated and diverse operations in the cell in a perfect and complete manner? The answer to this is very simple; wisdom is not in these molecules or in the cell that contains them, but in the self who has brought these molecules into being, programming them to function as they do. Shortly put, wisdom is present not in the work done, but in the creator of that work.

Even the most developed computer is the product of a wisdom and intellect that have written and installed the programs to operate it, and then used it. Likewise, the cell, DNA and the RNAs in it, and the human being made up of these cells are nothing but the works of the One who created them as well as what they do. No matter how perfect, complete and striking the work is, the wisdom always lies with the owner of the work.

If you saw one meaningful sentence in your notebook on the table, you would be curious to know who wrote it. You would never think that the notebook and the pen or the ink came together with the effect of the wind and wrote this sentence. In DNA, we are talking about billions of pieces of information each of which is crucial for a human being.

So, why don't we ask the same question about the cell? If the information in the notebook or the computer was written by someone, then who "wrote" DNA, which has a far superior and more advanced technology, is designed in the most perfect manner, created, and placed in the tiny cell, which, by itself, is another miracle? Besides, to date it has not lost any of the properties which it has had for thousands of years. What can be more important for you than to question by whom and why these cells, that function non-stop so that you may read these lines, see, breathe, think, in brief, exist and continue to exist, have been brought into being?

Is not the answer to this question that which, in life, you must wonder about most? One sees great design, planning and order, from the sun in the sky to the DNA in one's body. To think that any of these things could be the work of chance is an unacceptable claim, one that is impossible to take seriously.

No Design Can Happen by Chance

Nobody will have any doubt that the parts of a watch in the picture were designed by somebody. The encoding of the information in DNA is even more magnificent than the design in a watch. That being the case, it is a great lie to claim that that information came about by chance as the result of a decision by unconscious atoms.

You must have seen the name of a building spelt out in flowers on the ground in front of it. Looking down at them or from far away, you can immediately make out the name of the building or company concerned. That is a sign that the flowers are not there by chance, that they have been set out by gardeners and landscape designers. You may not see the gardeners actually doing it, but you can see that it has happened from the name the flowers spell out.

Alternatively, let us imagine that you leave the tiles scattered about at random on the table after a game of Scrabble. When you return, you see that the tiles now spell out the words: "I have won," and you immediately realize that someone has arranged them in a meaningful sequence. You would never imagine that they had come together by chance and formed those words, in just the same way that you would never imagine the name the flowers spelt out had appeared by chance. In short, if there is a design directed to a particular end somewhere, then you know that there must definitely be a designer behind it. You may not have seen the designer, yet you can be certain of his existence and intention from his work or the traces he leaves behind him.

The main idea we would like to convey with these examples is this: If there is even the slightest sign of something planned somewhere, there certainly lie the traces of a possessor of wisdom. For example, if you roll white stones down a mountain trillions of times, you will never see that they come to spell out the name of a building. If there is a word or a sentence somewhere, everyone will agree that that word or sentence must have been written by someone. Words without writers, or designs without designers are quite impossible.

The human body, on the other hand, possesses a structure trillions of times more complex than the name of a building or the words "I have won," and it is again totally impossible to imagine that this complexity could have come about of its own accord, or by chance. Moreover, the trillions of DNA that billions of living things have possessed for millions of years have been used in the most intelligent manner, written in the most perfect manner with no flaws, and placed in a tiny area invisible to the naked eye. That being the case, there is a Creator who planned and designed the cell and the DNA inside it so perfectly. Claiming the opposite means to go beyond the bounds of reason and attack the very foundations of truth, reason and logic.

Nevertheless, many people, who would readily say that it is impossible for letters to arrange themselves to form even three little words, can listen without objection to the deceit that it was all as a result of "coincidences" that billions of atoms came together one by one in a planned sequence and formed a molecule such as DNA, which performs such a super-complex task. This is just like a hypnotized person's submitting to the hypnotist and accepting by suggestion that he is a door, a tree or a lizard…

Flawless design samples in DNA are not limited to the above-mentioned examples. The coding of the data in DNA has been designed in a much more fascinating and amazing way.

Think of a jigsaw like the one in the picture. Every single piece needs to be in its right place for the puzzle to be completed and a picture emerge. Just like a jigsaw, all the nucleotides need to be in the correct order set out for them in order for the DNA molecules to form a perfect living thing and allow it to survive. It is of course ridiculous to think that the scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle came together by chance to make the picture below. It is even more illogical to claim that DNA, which has an incomparably more perfect design and complex coding system than a jigsaw puzzle, formed by coincidence.

The DNA Alphabet

The DNA in the cell nucleus has a spiral structure. When this is opened out, DNA turns into a long, thin string a metre or so in length. The way that a metre or so of DNA is squeezed into a minute cell nucleus is a subject requiring further consideration.

The atoms making up DNA have a superior design allowing the maximum amount of information to be carried in the smallest possible area. Three elements are found at every step of the two spiral ladders that twist around each other: sugar, phosphate and hydrogen-containing organic bases that make up the DNA codes. Although the tools and functions are the same in every human being, the particular codes that allow people to be different from one another are made up of these hydrogen bases. The differences in the way these four different bases are set out are the reason for all the differences between people. These bases are called Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine. They are linked to each other according to specific rules. Like a foreign language that scientists are just beginning to learn to read, these four types of hydrogen-based organic bases conceal the entire code of our biological existence.

These bases that make up the DNA molecule are known by their initial letters, A, T, G and C. The information in the data bank in the cell nucleus is stored in this way in an alphabet consisting of these four letters.

Each gene, which comprises one portion of the DNA molecule, determines a particular feature of the human body. Countless properties like height, eye colour, the material and the shape of the nose, ear, and skull are formed by the command of the related genes. We can compare every one of these genes to the pages of a book. On the pages there are scripts made up of the letters A – T – G – C.

There are approximately 200,000 genes in the DNA of a human cell. Every gene is composed of a special sequence of nucleotides, the number of which ranges between 1000 and 186,000 according to the type of the protein it correlates. These genes hold the codes of nearly 200,000 proteins that function in the human body and control the production of these proteins.

The Ordering of Genes

One of the most important discoveries of molecular biology was that some genes are more influential than others. The reason for this is that genes are set out in a very complicated order. In the fundamental genetic hierarchy there are genes charged with carrying out functions that are repeated: making haemoglobin, hair growth, or the production of digestive enzymes for instance. There are "ordering" genes placed over these worker molecules. These make the worker molecules work, and also stop them from doing so. For example, they stop the haemoglobin gene from functioning during childhood. There is a series of "main controls" over both the workers and "middle management." Their decisions affect dozens, even hundreds of sub-units. These genes are so vital that it can be fatal if they are damaged during the embryo stage.

That is a fact that requires careful consideration. Genes are molecules made up of atoms. So, how did these molecules set up such an ordered organization amongst themselves? How is it that a molecule can take the decision to halt someone's growth and relay that decision to other genes, so that they may receive, obey and implement it? Who set up that discipline? Furthermore, trillions of genes have been flawlessly carrying out the same functions for millions of years, with the same discipline, obedience, intelligence and consciousness.

To claim that such a system emerged by coincidence is utterly specious. There is no doubt that it is God, the Lord, who programs the genes so cleverly and perfectly.

DNA Challenges Coincidence

Today mathematics has proved that coincidence does not play a role in the formation of the coded information within DNA. Let alone the DNA molecule made up of millions of base pairs, the probability of the coincidental formation of even a single gene out of the 200,000 genes making up DNA is so low that even the word "impossible" hardly expresses it. Frank Salisbury, an evolutionist biologist, makes the following statement about this "impossibility:"

Francis Crick and James Watson won the Nobel Prize for discovering the magnificent structure of DNA.

A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The DNA gene controlling this would have about 1,000 nucleotides in its chain. Since there are four kinds of nucleotides in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1,000 links could exist in 41000 forms. Using a little algebra (logarithms) we can see that 41000=10600. Ten multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! This number is completely beyond our comprehension.3

That is to say that even if we assume that all the necessary nucleotides are present in a medium, and that all the complex molecules and enzymes to combine them were available, the possibility of these nucleotides being arranged in the desired sequence is 1 in 41000, in other words, 1 in 10600. Briefly, the probability of the coincidental formation of the code of an average protein in the human body in DNA by itself is 1 over 1 followed by 600 zeros. This number, which is beyond even being astronomical, means in practice "zero" probability. This means that such a sequence has to be effected under the control and with the knowledge of a wise and conscious power. There is zero probability of it happening by "accident," "chance," or "coincidence."

Think of the book you are reading right now. How would you regard someone who claimed that letters have come together by chance on their own to form this writing? It is evident that it was written by an intelligent and conscious person. This is no different from the status of DNA.

Francis Crick, the biochemist who discovered the structure of DNA, won a Nobel prize for the research he had carried out on the subject. Crick, who was an ardent evolutionist, stated the following scientific opinion in a book he wrote after testifying to the miraculous structure of DNA: "An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that, in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle."4 Even in Crick's view, who was one of the biggest experts on DNA, life could never originate on earth spontaneously.

When we consider the sensitive order and balances in the data inside DNA, it becomes even clearer how it is impossible for them to have come about by chance. The data in DNA, which is made up of 3 billion letters, is composed of a special and meaningful sequence of the letters A-T-G-C.

Human cells contain 46 chromosomes, in 23 pairs. Each pair is responsible for certain activities in the body. Any defect in the chromosome pairs results in irreparable damage.

However, not even a single letter should be misplaced in this sequence. A misspelled word or a single letter error in an encyclopaedia may be overlooked and ignored. It would not even be noticed. However, even a single mistake in any base pair of DNA, such as a miscoded letter in the 1 billion 719 million 348 thousand 632nd base pair, would cause terrible results for the cell, and therefore for the person himself. For instance, haemophilia (leukaemia) is the outcome of such an erroneous coding. There are several hereditary diseases that are caused by various disorders in genetic make-up. The only reason for these potentially very threatening diseases is that one or a few of the millions of letters in the genetic code are in the wrong place. Mongolism, or Down's Syndrome, is quite widespread. It is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair in every cell. Another example is Huntington's Disease. The sufferer is quite healthy up to 35, but then uncontrollable muscular spasms appear in the arms, legs and face. Since this fatal and incurable disease also affects the brain, the sufferer's memory and powers of thought grow progressively weaker.

A Downs Syndrome child with one extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair.

All these genetic diseases reveal one important fact: the genetic code is so sensitive and balanced, and so minutely calculated, that the smallest change can lead to very serious consequences. One letter too many or too few can lead to fatal sicknesses, or lifelong crippling effects. For this reason, it is definitely impossible to think that such a sensitive equilibrium came about by chance and developed by means of mutations, as the theory of evolution would have us believe.

That being the case, how did the enormous information within DNA come about and how was it encoded? Evolutionists, who base the roots of life on coincidences, have actually no comment to make on the subject of the roots of life. When you ask them about the roots of DNA, in other words the genetic code, you get the same reply from all of them. Leslie E. Orgel for instance, one of the foremost evolutionist biochemists of our time, offers the following reply:

We do not understand even the general features of the origin of the genetic code . . . [It] is the most baffling aspect of the problem of the origins of life and a major conceptual or experimental breakthrough may be needed before we can make any substantial progress.5

Those who claim that millions of pages, billions of pieces of information were written by chance are of course left quite speechless in this way.

In the same way that every book or piece of information has a writer or owner, so does the information in DNA: and that Creator is our Lord God, the possessor of superior and infinite knowledge and reason.

A Unique Creation: Self-Replication of DNA

As we know, cells multiply by dividing. While the human body is initially composed of a single cell, this cell divides and reproduces itself many times over in a ratio of 2-4-8-16-32...

What happens to DNA at the end of this dividing process? There is only one DNA chain in the cell. However, it is evident that the newly formed cell will also require a DNA. In order to fill this gap, DNA completes an interesting series of operations, every phase of which is a different miracle. Finally, soon before the cell divides, it makes a copy of itself and transfers this to the new cell.

Observations of cell division show that the cell has to reach a specific size before dividing. The moment it exceeds this particular size, the division process automatically starts. While the shape of the cell begins to get smoother so as to accommodate the division process, DNA starts to replicate itself as mentioned earlier.

This means that the cell "decides" to divide as a whole and the different parts of the cell start to act in accordance with this decision. It is evident that the cell is devoid of the consciousness to accomplish such a collective action. The division process starts with a secret order and the entire cell, including DNA, acts on this order.

First, DNA divides into two to replicate itself. This event takes place in a very interesting manner. The DNA molecule which resembles a spiral ladder divides into two like a zip from the middle of the rungs of the ladder. From now on, DNA divides into two portions. The missing halves (replicates) of both of the two portions are completed with the materials present in the milieu. In this way, two new DNA molecules are produced. In every phase of the operation, expert proteins called "enzymes" that function like advanced robots take part. Though it seems simple at first sight, the intermediary processes taking place throughout this operation are so many and so complicated that to describe the whole event in detail would take pages.

One thing must not be forgotten here. The enzymes that form as a result of atoms coming together examine one half of the DNA spiral, identify those parts that are missing, take the missing parts from the appropriate places and add them where needed. In this way, the copying of DNA comes about. The way that tiny unconscious, unreasoning structures can flawlessly carry out such complex processes, that require consciousness, knowledge and reason is not to be glossed over by just reading about them. There are important truths revealed here that need to be considered.

DNA synthesis begins at a specific base sequence, known as the origin of replication. Here, DNA strands are separated by an enzyme known as DNA helicase, following which single stranded DNA binding proteins attach to the unwound strands, preventing them from winding back together. At the same time, an RNA molecule known as RNA primer is synthesised between the strands as they detach themselves. This molecule helps DNA polymerase read nucleotides and initiate replication. DNA polymerase binds to one strand of the DNA, reads the sequence of bases on the template strand and then synthesises the complementary strand. Thus, it reforms a double helix. DNA synthesis proceeds on both single strands in opposite directions. When the process comes to an end, two new daughter molecules emerge, each containing one newly synthesised strand.

The new DNA molecules that emerge during replication are checked repeatedly by inspector enzymes. If any mistake is made-which can be quite vital, it is immediately identified and corrected. The erroneous code is removed and replaced by the correct one. Although all these processes take place at such a dazzling speed-3,000 base pairs are produced in a minute,-all these pairs are checked repeatedly by the enzymes in charge and the necessary amendments are made.

Thanks to the information within DNA, the proteins that undertake countless tasks in our bodies are produced with all the features they need.

The following facts, which are particularly revealing will give a better understanding of the great speed at which DNA multiplies. The division of one cell lasts between 20 and 80 minutes, and the information on DNA needs to be copied and multiplied within that time scale. In other words, the 3 billion pieces of information in DNA can be copied in between 20 and 80 minutes with no faults or omissions. That is as miraculous as the perfect reproduction in such a short space of time as all the information in a library, or 1,000 books, or a million pages. And note carefully, it is not technological equipment or advanced photocopiers that do this, but enzymes formed by collections of atoms.

In the newly produced DNA molecule, more mistakes can be made than normal as a result of external factors. In this case, the ribosomes in the cell start to produce DNA repair enzymes as per the order given by DNA. Thus, as DNA protects itself, it also guarantees the preservation of the generation.

The cells are born, they reproduce and die just like human beings. Yet the life spans of cells are much shorter than the life of the human they constitute. For instance, the majority of the cells that used to make up your body six months ago do not exist today. However, you are now able to survive because they have divided on time to leave their places to the new ones. For this reason, highly complex operations like multiplication of the cells and replication of DNA are vital processes which cannot tolerate even a minor mistake when it comes to man's survival. However, the multiplication process runs so smoothly that the rate of error is only one in 3 billion base pairs. And this one error is eliminated by the higher control mechanisms in the body without causing any problems.

The most interesting point is that these enzymes which help in the production of DNA and control its composition are actually proteins produced according to the information coded in DNA and under the command and control of DNA. There is such an intertwined, perfect system at work that it is by no means possible for such a system to have attained this state by gradual coincidences.

A special enzyme, called telomerase directs the replication of telomeres. Telomere is the end of a chromosome, which consists of repeated sequences of DNA that perform the function of ensuring that each cycle of DNA replication has been completed.

Just as DNA has to exist for the enzyme to exist, so the enzyme has to exist for DNA to exist, and for both to exist, on the other hand, the cell has to exist completely, down to its membrane and all the other complex organelles it contains.

The theory of evolution asserting that living beings evolved "step by step" as a result of "beneficial coincidences" is explicitly refuted by the above mentioned DNA-enzyme paradox. This is because both DNA and the enzyme have to exist at the same time. And this shows the existence of a conscious creation.

All through the day, quite without your being aware of it, numerous operations and controls are carried out, and many measures are taken in your body in an incredibly fastidious and responsible manner so that you may lead your life without any problems.

Every single thing carries out its duty successfully and completely. God has placed at your service countless atoms and molecules, from the biggest to the smallest, from the simplest to the most complex, so that you may live a good and healthy life. Such favour and blessing alone are enough to deserve our constant thanks.

It was God who made the night for you to rest in, and the day to give you light. God pours out His favour on mankind, yet most people do not give thanks. (Qur'an, 40:61)

When the DNA synthesis is complete, an error occurs in one nucleotide in a thousand. Yet such errors have been prepared for. There is a special group of enzymes charged with repairing errors that occur during the DNA synthesis. These enzymes identify the error in a conscious manner and remove the defective nucleotide. They synthetise a new nucleotide and insert it back during the process.

Many enzymes have to exist alongside DNA during replication and protein synthesis. The red and yellow areas in the picture show enzymes that work with DNA.

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